UNH Award for Achievement in Civic Advocacy

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The UNH Award for Achievement in Civic Advocacy has been made possible by a bequest from Julius C. Edelstein, a tireless advocate for economically and educationally disadvantaged students, a great friend and supporter of settlement houses and Director Emeritus of the UNH Board. As a former UNH Board member, Mr. Edelstein was instrumental in assuring that UNH achieved stability and effectiveness in the 1980s. Through this award, UNH recognizes staff of UNH member agencies who have demonstrated significant commitment to and accomplishment in the area of civic advocacy and engagement. One thousand dollars ($1,000) is awarded each year.

In addition, instructions on how to nominate somebody are available here:  

UNH Award for Achievement in Civic Advocacy: How to nominate someone (29 KB) 13-Apr-2012

Here is the link to log-in and get started with the application: http://www.unhny.org/members/login  

Recent Awardees

• 2011 Matthew Chachere, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation
• 2011 Eileen Reilly, CAMBA
• 2010 Marisa Ragonese, Queens Community House
• 2009 Christine Roland, Queens Community House

2011 Winner - Matthew Chachere , Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation



Board member Jack Krauskopf awarding 2011 Award for Civic Advocacy to Matthew Chachere

Matthew Chachere is an Attorney with the Legal Services Department of UNH member Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, nominated for his two decades of work on the issue of childhood lead poisioning prevention at the local, state, and federal levels. Much of this work comes from representing the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisining (NCCELP), an organization formed by parents of lead-poisoned children.

Matthew says: “In two cases I litigated at the State’s highest court, the New York Court of Appeals has declared that “the dangers of exposure to lead-based paint, especially to young children are well documented and pose a serious public health problem” and that “childhood lead paint poisoning may be the most significant environmental disease in New York City.” The culmination of Matthew’s career-long commitment to this work was the enactment of the New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, Local Law 1 of 2004, which Matthew was closely involved in drafting.

2011 Winner: Eileen Reilly, CAMBA




2011 winner Eileen Reilly, CAMBA, 2nd from right.

Eileen Reilly is the Program Director for Refugee Services and Workforce Development at UNH member CAMBA, nominated for her role as co-founder and Executive Steering Committee Member of We Are All Brooklyn (WAAB), a coalition of more than 75 community and faith based organizations that brings together leaders from diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds to solve quality of life issues affecting their communities. This coalition was founded in the immediate aftermath of September 11th to specifically discuss collaborations for peace and safety in diverse communities, in the face of the outbreak of war and potential increase in hate crimes and backlash against Muslim community members or those perceived to be Muslim.

“Among the most significant accomplishments of WAAB and the one which I am proudest is my role in the creation and guidance of the We Are All Brooklyn (WAAB) Fellowship program…a 10-month leadership development program dedicated to advancing the next generation of Brooklyn’s young diverse leaders and empowering them to become change agents to strengthen Brooklyn.”

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